


Kismet Transaction

by ariofthesea



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Pre-Ooo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2018-01-10 02:08:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1153499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariofthesea/pseuds/ariofthesea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that draws one person to another, not words."<br/>--Rumi</p><p>Inspired by a bit from the "I Remember You" storyboard, which said of Simon and Marcy: "They know each other."  It also said "he left her alone for some reason," but I'm choosing to ignore what that's about for the moment and focus on one of a few headcanons I have about how they might have "known each other" before the bomb(s?) dropped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kismet Transaction

The drive to the bank was a silent one, save for the purring of the engine and the light pattering of rain on Lydia’s car.  In the back seat, little Marceline snored peacefully away, which brought a smile to her mother’s face.  The young woman pulled up as close to the bank entrance as the available parking spots would allow.  As she approached the front doors, she heard what sounded like an disagreement inside, which was odd, considering it was close to closing time and there was only one teller and one customer.  Lydia considered coming back the following week, but she really needed to cash her check, and decided she should just get it over with.     

 

Once she stepped inside, she stood a fair distance away from the person in front of her.  Something about him definitely struck her as _different_.  Not the tacky elbow patches on his old-fashioned professor’s suit, or his tacky, rounded Cuban heel boots, but something else...

 

If only he would turn around so she could see past his ski cap, out of which dull, light gray tufts of hair poked. 

 

“Look, buddy, we don’t have it, so can you just move along?”

 

“Please, the last two banks I went to turned me away,” the man said in a meek voice. 

 

The teller looked displeased.  “Maybe they had a good reason.”

 

“Do you need another ID?  Because I have that.”  The man reached into his pocket and fumbled for his wallet.  As he did this, Lydia got a glimpse of the bit of his face peeking out from between his hat and scarf.  Her heart beat a bit faster when she saw his light periwinkle skin and what appeared to be a larger than average nose bulging beneath the scarf.  Though he thankfully didn’t catch her staring at him, she also noticed that the sclera of his eye was completely white. 

 

“I said _forget it_.  Now go bother someone else.” 

 

Lydia’s body tensed up.  It really wasn’t her business to get involved, but seeing that poor man be rejected like that—that poor, obviously supernatural man—it made her think of her own child.  Little Marcy, who she would have to fight for in order for her to be accepted, regardless of whether she lived in a human or demon society.  Those thoughts pushed Lydia to show empathy, go against her reserved nature, and intervene.  

 

“Uncle Shelley?”

 

Both the teller and the man looked at Lydia.  The moment the man made eye contact with her, her eyes brightened and her smile widened. 

 

“Oh my God, it _is_ you!  It’s been forever!” 

 

She walked over to the stranger and threw her arms around him.  Her entire body shivered.  Sure, he looked a little...frostbitten?  But Lydia didn't expect that he would actually be so cold.  Nonetheless, she kept up the act.

 

“Wow, feeling a bit nippy there, Shell?   Seriously, get your heater fixed already!” 

 

Lydia let go of him and took a step back so she could look him in the eyes.  Even though they were completely white, they could still reflect his flabbergasted expression.

 

“Just play along,” she whispered.  The look in his eyes changed to one of understanding right away. 

 

“Okay, now’s not the time for your little family reunion,” the teller said, waving a dismissive hand.  “Let’s just move things along, shall we?”

 

“Yes, _let’s_.” Lydia stood firm as she faced the man behind the counter.  “What’s up with you giving my uncle a hard time?”

 

“I don’t know,” the teller retorted, “what’s up with you calling a guy you’re not related to your uncle?”

 

“How would you know we’re not family?”

 

“Tell me, what’s ‘Shelley’s’ last name?”

 

Lydia froze.  She stuttered trying to think of something, and at last came up with:

 

“Silverstein?”

 

The man in the suit flinched. 

 

“Oh wow, either you must think I’m dumber than I look, or there really aren’t any brains behind that pretty face of yours.”

 

Lydia slammed her palms on the counter, causing the teller to jump a little.

 

“I don’t know what your beef is with this guy, but I’m getting real sick of waiting around because of your petty crap.”      

 

“M-ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to step away from the—”

 

“ _Shut up_.”   

 

The teller obeyed with a gulp. 

 

“Look, I may be on the younger side, but I remember when people weren’t complete jerkwads to each other.  So what if not-Shelley over there is tickled purple?  If you knew anything about the world, you’d know it’s changing, and we’re all being strung along for the ride, whether we like it or not.  So with that said, is taking the time to help this man really that big of a deal?  No.  Now can you do us all a favor and do your goddamn job?  Or should I complain to management about the customer service around here?” 

 

Though the teller was still nervous, he masked it by acting inconvenienced. 

 

“Fine, whatever gets you two out of my sight.”

 

He gestured for the man in the suit to come up to the counter.  As the man completed his transactions, the teller’s eyes grew wide, and he muttered:

 

“Holy hell, you’re loaded.”

 

Once Lydia completed her banking, she exited the building, only to find the man standing nearby.  When she jumped, he said:

 

“Oh, s-sorry for scaring you.”

 

“No, don’t worry about it...”

 

After an awkward pause, he added:

 

“You have no idea how much I appreciate what you did back there.  Thanks.”

 

“Yeah.”  She looked away.  “Don’t mention it.”

 

As she turned, she glimpsed movement from inside of her car.  Marceline was waking up, yawning and stretching her tiny arms as high as they could reach.

 

“Oh geez!”  What was she thinking, leaving her kid there for so long?  But then again, she did park in a place where she could see Marceline at all times, and there was no way she knew it would take that long—

 

Whatever, she thought, I need to start prepping dinner. 

 

“Listen, gotta run, take care of yourself, don’t use money for stupid things like booze!  Bye~!”

 

As she put the car in reverse and looked in the rear-view mirror, she noticed Marceline looking the stranger’s way with curious eyes.  And when the young woman got one last glimpse at the stranger, he seemed to be looking at Marceline with the same expression.

 

After that, the ride home was just as silent and uneventful as the ride before.   


End file.
